With the initial uncertainty of operating in a post-Katrina New Orleans now in the past, Loyola is beginning to reach a point of stability.

That’s the message from the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, to Loyola in an electronic document e-mailed to students, faculty and staff.

“I believe the university has great challenges ahead, which also present great opportunities that can strengthen the university,” Wildes wrote in the document.

Wildes, however, stopped short of saying the university is ready to rebound or sink. He noted that this semester’s freshman class of about 550 students, as of Aug. 23, mixed with another 156 or so transfer and readmitted students will help the university. Loyola is heavily tuition dependent – about 71 percent of the annual operating budget comes from tuition and student fees – and Wildes said that even with a class of 706 “new” students, university officials are looking at a deficit of about $1 million.

The main loss, Wildes said, came from the number of out of state students. This year, Wildes told The Maroon, there is almost an even split of Louisiana students and out of state students.

The national perception of the city may have something to do with the drop in out of state applications, Wildes said. But he feels that everything has been done to counteract that image in Loyola’s favor.

“I believe that we have controlled as many variables as we can so that we can have more control over our future and decide what ought to be our ‘ideal’ size,” Wildes wrote.

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

Another significant change that the university has made this year is the way it will operate if another major hurricane or natural disaster is followed by a prolonged evacuation.

The Hurricane Emergency Planning Team has recommended to Wildes that he be prepared to order an evacuation when a hurricane of Category 1 – or higher – strength threatens the city. Loyola has also contracted with Impact Weather to help the university decide on what actions to take.

Additionally, all students will be requested to fill out a personal evacuation plan; residential students were required to fill one out before room keys were received.

Those students who live on campus but don’t have transportation out of the city will take busses, provided by Jesuit High School, to St. Michael the Archangel High School in Baton Rouge. Administrators have also secured space in Houston as an operating base should another evacuation occur.

Information Technology has reworked the university’s computer systems so those affiliated with Loyola can better keep in touch.

“We learned in Katrina how unsettling it is to be out of touch with each other, and it is my hope that we have found the right ways to address that problem for the future,” Wildes wrote.

Faculty and staff will have an e-mail account set up on a standby system in the event that the main Loymail system goes down. Faculty will also be able to use Blackboard to continue teaching should Loyola be forced out of the city again.

A NEW LESSON PLAN

With so much focus on Loyola’s academic losses during the past months, Wildes wrote that it is his vision to see the university become a “true learning community” based “in the Jesuit tradition of education and learning.”This, he wrote, also consists of working with change for a greater good. Change, Wildes also wrote, is the environment of Loyola right now.

“Loyola will be a learning community that encourages creativity and experimentation in research, teaching, programs and the way it organizes itself,” Wildes wrote.

The proposed academic changes would allow faculty members to have more freedom to conduct research in their fields, Wildes wrote, while students will have a revised Common Curriculum and more opportunities to land internships.

ROOM TO GROW

Another vision Wildes has is that of literal growth. With Loyola being the only Jesuit university in the southern tier of the United States, Wildes envisions Loyola as a presence in other cities within the region. The opportunity to open satellite campuses is a possibility, he said.

In New Orleans, there is a chance Loyola could expand its physical plant.

“We are in a rare moment in the city’s history when there are a number of opportunities for us to expand the footprint of the university,” Wildes wrote. “These are opportunities to invest in the long term future of the university.”

A master campus plan to enhance the learning process will be in the works, along with how to make the plan a reality, Wildes said.

The plan would call for renovation of current buildings and the creation of new facilities for the arts, faculty office space and both undergraduate and graduate housing.

“I do not believe there is a single aspect of life at Loyola that does not need to address questions of facilities,” Wildes wrote.

Daniel Monteverde can be reached at [email protected].